Off the wire
• LME base metals prices increase on Friday  • British FTSE 100 rises 2.19 pct on Friday  • Britain, Norway, U.S. urge South Sudanese parties to form transitional gov't  • Over 40 pct asylum applications rejected in Finland in 2015  • Lithuanian leaders call for action against Belarusian nuclear power plant  • Urgent: At least one person dies of swine flu in Finland  • Roundup: Russia strikes Syrian rebels near Turkey borders, Syrian army advances on ground  • Obama headed for one of lowest-ever presidential approval ratings: poll  • Threat of swine flu break-out emerges in Finland  • Portuguese PM says draft state budge for 2016 "responsible"  
You are here: 　 Home

Rebelo de Sousa leads Portuguese presidential election poll

Xinhua, January 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Candidate Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is the front runner in the Portuguese presidential election to be held on Sunday, according to the latest opinion poll published on Friday.

The poll conducted by Portuguese Catolic University showed Rebelo de Sousa, a veteran political of Social Democratic Party (PSD) will get 52 percent of votes while independent Sampaio da Novoa, a former president of Lisbon University, will obtain 22 percent and Maria de Belem, former president of the Socialist Party, only 8 percent.

A record 10 candidates are running for president of Portugal this year and two of them are female.

According to Portugual's Constitution, only a candidate who secures more than 50 percent of votes will be elected president, otherwise the two who get the most votes will contend in an run-off, on February 14 for this year.

The 67-year-old Rebelo de Sousa, a law professor graduated from Law School of Lisbon University, is a popular TV commentator and former secretary-general of PSD.

Portuguese president serves five-years in a term and can be elected for another. The president is powered to dissolve the parliament, call a snap election and appoint who wins the election as the country's prime minister.

The incumbent president Anibal Cavaco Silva, aged 76, was elected president in January 2006 and reelected in 2011. Enditem